1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fields of cooking foods and ironing fabrics and, in particular, relates to the use of vibration pulses to facilitate cooking and ironing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the use of appliances such as griddles, rice cookers, etc., for cooking, as well as the use of cookware such as pans, skillets, etc., the sticking of foodstuffs to the cooking surfaces these items has long been a known problem, as same increases the difficulty of cooking multiple food items and/or cleaning these items. The use of non-stick coatings, which typically include a fluoropolymer that provides a non-stick property, is well known to reduce sticking of foodstuffs to the cooking surfaces.
In the ironing of fabrics, wrinkles are removed by the use of heat to loosen the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the fabric. When the molecules are heated, the fibers may be straightened by the weight of the heated sole of the iron, and the fibers thereafter tend to hold their smoothed or flattened shape as they cool. Some fabrics, such as cotton, may require the addition of water, which is typically sprayed from an ironing appliance by a spray pump device, to loosen the intermolecular bonds of the fibers. Some ironing appliances also eject steam through the fabric during the ironing process to aid in loosening the bonds between the molecules in the fibers of the fabric.
When ironing appliances are used for ironing items of clothing and/or other fabrics, it is desirable to prevent sticking of the fabrics to the hot surface of the iron sole and to facilitate smooth movement of the heated iron sole over the fabric.
What is needed are improvements in the fields of cooking and ironing to address the foregoing concerns.